Book Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Oh! But this is ridiculously fantastic fun. An unemployed sci-fi geek escapes the pandemic by going all David Attenborough with Godzilla.

Yes, it is an exercise in nerdy wish fulfilment. But who among us wouldn't have rather spent the last two years being chased by giant scary monsters rather than cowering away from a microscopic virus?

It a joyful piece of bubble-gum sci-fi. It plays well with tropes and, much like Redshirts, gives the reader exactly what they need.

It isn't very subtle. But then, these are not subtle times. The goodies are good, the baddies suitably menacing. It drifts towards the science side of science-fiction. Lots of geologists and physicists expositioning on what makes a Kaiju tick.

In a way, it's a shame that the book's title gives away the first-quarter twist - it would have been nice to have been as shocked as the protagonist. It's also suffused with mid-pandemic terror which, again, I could have done without - having just lived through it! But those are minor complaints.

If you want to sit down on a beach with a good slice of sci-fi - and have a thorough good time escaping from reality - this is perfect. And you'll get to say how much you enjoyed the book compared to the inevitable Netflix series.